The present invention relates to an endoscope and to a method for fixing optical fibers therein.
Endoscopes usually comprise a shaft and a head disposed at a proximal end of the shaft. A light connection is disposed at the head and optical fibers are provided which extend from said proximal light connection to a distal end of said shaft for guiding light from said proximal light connection to said distal end of the shaft. A sleeve is usually provided in which a proximal end section of the light fibers is fixed. The sleeve containing the fixed end section of the light fibers is introduced into a connecting piece of said light connection.
The light fibers are usually made of glass fibers which tend to crack if the sleeve is turned in in a screw-like motion into the connecting piece.
A break of individual fibers leads to a reduction in the quantity of the light that is guided. Furthermore, putting the optical fibers under tensile stress can additionally lead to damage the optical fibers. That is further accelerated by the fact that the medicine endoscopes must be regularly autoclaved in which case they are heated briefly to temperatures above 150° C. and are very quickly cooled thereafter. This results in different expansion of parts of the endoscope that are produced from various materials. This can amplify the stresses on the optical fibers and can lead to further damage in the optical fibers, for example, when the shaft of the endoscope expands more strongly than the optical fibers contained therein.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope with less stress acting on the optical fibers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an endoscope with high light guide properties for a long term.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for fixing optical fibers in an endoscope resulting in less stressed optical fibers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for fixing optical fibers in an endoscope with a long duration of high light guiding properties.